The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Heliopsis plant botanically known as Heliopsis helianthoides and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Double Sunstruck’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Elburn, Ill. during March 2010. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Heliopsis cultivars having large flowers, novel foliage color, and compact habits.
The new Heliopsis cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Heliopsis helianthoides breeding selection coded 3652-C3, not patented, characterized by its single-type, dark yellow-colored inflorescences, green and white variegated foliage, and minimally vigorous, upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Heliopsis helianthoides breeding selection coded 3645-A2, not patented, characterized by its double-type, dark yellow-colored inflorescences, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during August 2012 in a controlled environment in Elburn, Ill.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since August 2012 in Elburn, Ill. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.